FutureMakers Update, 28 November, 2025

An item for my Kiwi readers.

FutureMakers Newsletter 28 November 2025 Tēnā koe Michael A different style of newsletter this week as I share the details of three different events that I’ve had the privilege of participating in over the past week. The record of the 24Hours for Change project has been expertly curated and I’ve featured here the NZ contribution. Then I’ve added my thoughts about the Whiti te Rā event in Wellington this week, and finally, the video recording of a webinar I hosted with two education leaders who travelled with me to the US back in October. Before you start reading – this newsletter exists only through the generous support of those who find it valuable. Would you consider making a one-off or a regular donation to help support this work? 24 Hours of Change for Education As mentioned in my previous newsletter, the highlight of my week last week was being able to work with a team of amazing NZ educators and students to launch the 24Hours of Change global project. The various presentations from this event have now been processed by the organisers, and we received the link to the NZ segment earlier this week – https://24hforchange.education/newzealand25 The web page contains the recording of the complete NZ segment, plus a really useful overview of what was covered. You can find a more comprehensive overview with links to all of the country presentations here – https://24hforchange.education/ Please share this widely among your networks as it profiles what we are doing here in NZ in such positive ways. The summary infographic below was developed using Google NotebookLM, derived directly from the event’s video sources. Preparing tomorrow for our mokopuna today! Monday of this week was certainly a highlight for me – I attended an event called Whiti Te Rā,  iwi-led education summit that took place at Te Papa. The summit was organised by the team at Pātaka Toa, the education arm of Ngati Toa. I loved the theme for the event: “preparing tomorrow for our rmokopuna today” – a creative and compelling call to act now, not at some point in the future! The day featured an inspiring programme of speakers  including Helmut Modlik, Tumu Whakarae at Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira;  Bianga Elkington, GM Education and Employment at Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira Incorporated: Lee Stephen from Hiku Media, Ian Musson from Young Enterprise Trust,  Piripi Winiata from Kawea Law and consultancy, Grant Bruno from Alberta (expert on indigenous understandings of neurodiversity)  and Elle Archer. In addition, there was a fabulous rangatahi panel sharing their thoughts and experiences in relation to navigating knowledge across the moana. A big takeaway for me was being introduced to Rautaki Pātaka Toa – the 2040 education and Employment Strategy – brilliantly titled “Letters to my Mokopuna“. This is perhaps one one of the most well thought out and presented education strategies I’ve seen in a while, and well worth the time to download and read. The clarity, focus and coherence represented in this document is something I feel is missing in our current national education system. In this doc there’s a bold ambition, combined with a clear pathway for achieving it! After attending the Whiti Te Rā summit, I’ve been thinking more about how education shapes the future – and how competing visions are pulling our system in different directions. I’ve captured some of my thinking in my recent blog post in which I explore what iwi-led futures thinking can teach us about clarity, capability, and preparing tomorrow for our mokopuna today. Back in October of this year I had the privilege of travelling to the US with two NZ education leaders, Natasha Teinakore from Birkdale Primary School, and Lesley Pogai from Aberdeen Primary School, to attend the FullScale Symposium in New Orleans and visit some schools in San Francisco on our way home. This week Lesley and Natasha joined me for a Zoom conversation in which they shared their reflections on this trip, with stories of the key lessons they learned and the impact of this on their role as leaders in their schools as they returned to NZ. You can read more about this on my recent blog post. [click on the video above to view the full recording] Next year’s FullScale Symposium is being held in Indianapolis, and I am in the early stages of planning another tour opportunity for NZ educators to attend that and visit schools in that area. If you’d be interested in receiving information about this opportunity please add your name to the registration of interest by clicking the button below. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES More Professional Learning Opportunities The Big Picture Learning Foundation Programme being run in Ōtaki from 26th – 30th January, 2026 is the place to be!  This 5-day program will take you through all of the the key elements of the Big Picture Learning design. Download the brochure here – share it with colleagues who may be interested. Not to be missed! Do you know of any other professional learning opportunities that have a future focus – email Derek using the link below to have them mentioned in this section of the newsletter. This newsletter exists only through the generous support of those who find it valuable – if you’d like to contribute with a one-off or a regular donation you can do so here. Please encourage others to subscribe so they can receive this newsletter free into their mailbox each Friday. I’m always interested to hear your feedback or ideas about what you’d like to see included in future newsletters – please use the link below to email me with your suggestions.